Hi...I'm new to hybrid ownership and have many questions. All of the threads I have read are very helpful. Now that I have 3,000 miles on my 2009 Honda Civic I need to know what is the recommended service time. The manual says to go by the oil life and if the service indicator light doesn't come on to have it serviced in a year. That seems like an awful long time to me. Any suggestions? Thanks

 

The car has a maintenance system built in which tells you when service is required. Do as it says and save your money! The days of 3000 mile oil and filter changes are over. The system tells you when to service allmost everything. It reminds you when only 15% is left and has to be reset when sevice is completed.You still have to watch for parts braking off course. So read your manual and understand how it works,and be happy you have it! Then if your service department wants to change at 3000 miles, find yourself a new service outlet. H

 

Essentially the service intervals for the HCHII are:

Oil change 10K
Oil Filter change 20K (or second oil change)
Cabin and Air filter change 30K
CVT fluid change 30K
Tire rotation 10K
Brake fluid change every 3 years
Spark Plugs 100K
Valve adjustment 100K
Coolant change 100K


The maintenance minder function provides feedback for the typical owner who does not pay close attention to these sort of things. I have found that it is typically 15% conservative in its "Zero miles to maintenance" recommendations. Add to that the fact that many folks do oil changes etc, when the MM function reads 15% or more, means that these maintenances are being done on average 3000 or more miles early. This ends up costing the owner more with these early intervals and also wastes oil and pollutes the environment unnecessarily.

Over the life of my 07 HCHII I have maintained 10K service intervals regardless of the status on the MM. I have also done detailed servicability analysis of the quality of the oil when drained, and have found that even 10K oil changes are conservative.

Below is the analysis of the oil changed at 40K.



The bottom line is that some folks are not mechanically inclined, and need to be told when to change their oil. The MM provides that function, and while its maintenance intervals may not be very efficient, if they can get the car's owner to actually do the maintenance regardless of the interval, then they are successful. The MM is like your mother harping at you to change your underwear or clean up your room. If it can get you to do the desired outcome, then it is a good thing.

 

Yes what you do is great O.E.! But for most of us the Maintenance Minder is a very valuable tool. It keeps good records for you. And I agree we should take it down to as close as possible to the 0% on the MM. This will be very close too 10,000 miles using Honda 0-20 oil? Alot of owners use Mobil oil rather than Honda brand. If it wasn't for the M.M. allot of us would be changing oil every 5,000 miles and replacing the filter every change rather than every other! I think the MM is a great tool and so does Honda? H

 

I do the filter at every change simply because it's a $10 part that gives me peace of mind on the extended oil runs. OE's Blackstone reports are really cool, I just wish they'd give some sort of indication as to filter life. If they said "Your filter could probably go for 30k", then I'd do it every other change like the MM suggests.

 

I learned today that the oil change interval for the HCHII in EU countries is 20000 km (12430 miles).

This is in line with the useful life of a fill of 0-20 synthetic (Honda or Mobil1).

 

The most km. I have managed with the MM is 15,000 Km. I use honda 0-20. I would like to try mobile1, but it is had to come by here. H

 

I'm at 15% oil life with a B1 MM reminder. Gotta get my 08 HCH II to the dealer.

Here's my issue: Power Honda Valencia CA--first service total was $119.00 based on their price package. This included the oil change, tire rotation, and 40 something point inspection of the entire car. The upcoming B1 service quote is $117.00 for the same service...I think.
I've called other dealers in the area, most quoting about the same prices. (Man, I should have taken that Auto Mechanics course back in high school!)

Paying too much? Other than that, all is good!

Happy New Year!!!

 

Really that is not bad for the amount of service you are getting Stevie. I do it myself and it is alot of work to do a good job of it. I think that is a good deal for 10,000 miles of driving! H

 

Thanks for your insight, Harold!

I'm at 15,000 miles and remain extremely happy with the car! I'll continue to acknowledge the helpful MM and keep the car running nicely!